Meet Ellen!
Artist Ellen Jareckie creates all our whimsical characters!
Ellen Jareckie was born in 1959 in Bennington, Vermont. As a child, she spent much of her spare time drawing. In addition to that, she kept a variety of pets throughout her childhood. These included a pet pig named Pipsqueak (who was raised on a bottle), a Bobwhite quail named Quincy, some lizards, snakes, goats, ducks, rabbits, cats, dogs, and of course mice. Her first encounter with mice occurred when her sister, Wren, brought home from school a mouse named Speedy. She immediately fell in love with the soft, warm and tiny creature. Not long after that Ellen also raised a litter of orphaned baby wild mice which were later released in a nearby field.
Of all the animals Ellen has drawn, however, the mice continue to be by far the most popular. Maybe this is partly because of the humanlike expressions Ellen adds to the mice or maybe because people are fascinated by their small size in comparison to our relatively large human world.
Inspired by the humanlike expressions of the mice, Ellen started creating the Gruffies in 2007. The bears have grown in popularity in a very short time and new designs may be created.
In any event, after all these years of drawing mice, bears and other whimsical characters Ellen continues to enjoy creating and it shows in the look on Mudpie Mouse's face when he gets to eat a cookie that's as big as he is! P.S. If you have discovered an injured or orphaned wild animal, Ellen asks that you contact your local Fish and Wildlife Dept. for a list of wildlife rehabilitators in your area. Some veterinarians also have lists of local rehabilitators.
